A man who owns a cycle always dreams of owning a scooter, and a man who owns a scooter always dreams of a Merdeces Benz. And the cycle of desires in life goes on.

But life doesn’t really give you what you expect from it.

It was a cold night. I pulled down the window and gazed at the stars. I could feel the cool breeze in the room. My hands and feet were numb and my mum advised me to put on a pair of socks and mittens. While I was gazing at those stars I suddenly remembered something.

Earlier that day I had happened to catch the sight of a child who seemed to have lost his parents, and without much to eat was lying on the streets. It was a heart-breaking sight. Humans don’t think about the blessings we have. We are never satisfied with what we have, but always want something more. We don’t compare ourselves with the underprivileged ones as much as we do with those who are gifted with more than necessary. We keep on expecting more in our lives than what is needed.

Then, I shut the window thinking about that child and the pain he would suffer in the cold night and went to bed realising how fortunate I was to have everything I wanted.

— Shreya Joshy, Class IX, St Mary’s High School